[Breaking News] Recovering suspected black box from CASA-212

On June 22, the recovery of an object believed to be from the CASA-212 aircraft at a depth of 60 meters was carried out, with the participation of divers, robots, and modern equipment and personnel.

Regarding the search for the CASA-212 aircraft on the ground, the location where the plane crashed is currently identified as being close to the demarcation line in the Gulf of Tonkin between Vietnam and China.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Defense stated that as soon as they received information about the aircraft losing contact, they worked with the Chinese side to coordinate and assist in the search.

Today (June 22), the recovery of an object believed to be from the CASA-212 aircraft at a depth of 60 meters is expected to be carried out, with the participation of divers, robots, and the most modern equipment and personnel.

All forces of the Ministry of National Defence and related agencies and units are working urgently to provide information on the search results to the people nationwide as soon as possible, especially to the families of the nine soldiers who are still missing.

Coast Guard forces are participating in the search for CASA-212. Photo:Vietnam Coast Guard.

During a meeting that concluded late afternoon on June 21st at the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority, representatives from CASA, a subsidiary of Airbus of Spain, stated that they would cooperate and assist in decoding the black box and determining the cause of the accident.

Black box locator equipment and technical experts have now been deployed to the site. After the black box, along with the debris, is found, Airbus will process the data and reconstruct the incident, under the supervision of the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense.

Airbus Group stated that it will discuss in detail the technical specifications of the CASA-212 aircraft, and will provide support in terms of personnel, technical equipment, and funding. Information sharing with Vietnam will be supported at the highest level and with absolute confidentiality.

Jean Michel Caldaguès, Deputy Chief Representative of Airbus in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, affirmed that they will do their utmost to provide maximum technical support to Vietnam in determining the cause of the accident and searching for the nine missing soldiers.

According to Lai Xuan Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority, Vietnam currently has black box decoding machines, but in cases where the black box is submerged in water or damaged, specialized tools must be used to recover the data. Airbus will provide full support.

"Airbus has informed the Spanish aircraft accident investigation agency of the situation, and they are ready to cooperate when Vietnam requests it," Mr. Thanh said.

A portion of the wreckage from the CASA-212 aircraft has been recovered. Photo:Vietnam Coast Guard.

According to Lai Xuan Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority, the goal is to determine the cause of the CASA-212 accident in order to prevent future accidents. Mr. Thanh also affirmed that the CASA-212 is a modern aircraft and is widely used around the world.

Director Lai Xuan Thanh affirmed that determining the cause of the accident will have to be carried out at a later stage by competent state agencies and units.

Speaking to VTV, Major General Nguyen Quang Dam, Commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard, said that China had deployed 8 law enforcement vessels and 8 fishing boats to search for the CASA-212 aircraft in the Chinese waters adjacent to the demarcation line with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Previously, regarding the search and rescue operation for the CASA-212 aircraft, the Office of the National Committee for Search and Rescue announced that, following the instructions of the Minister of National Defense, on the afternoon of June 20th, the Search and Rescue Department (Ministry of National Defense) sent a telegram to the Naval Command directing Tan Cang Shipping Joint Stock Company (Tan Cang Saigon Corporation) to develop a search and rescue plan for the CASA-212 aircraft.

Location where the CASA-212 aircraft lost contact. Graphic:Nguyen Anh/Google Maps.

CASA-212 aircraft number 8983 lost contact at 12:30 PM on June 16th, at coordinates 19°25'40"N-107°19'54"E (approximately 44 nautical miles south-southwest of Bach Long Vi Island, Hai Phong City).

CASA-212 aircraft number 8983, belonging to the 918th Brigade of the Air Defense - Air Force Command, lost contact while flying a search and rescue mission for the pilot of a Su-30MK2 aircraft that had crashed earlier.

The aircraft carried nine officers and soldiers, with Colonel Le Kiem Toan, Commander of Brigade 918 of the Air Defense - Air Force Command, as the main pilot.

Later, search and rescue teams recovered several parts of the crashed CASA-212 aircraft, including fragments of the fuselage, tires, and the left rear landing gear.

Although many pieces of the plane's wreckage have been found, nine people on this ill-fated flight are still missing.

According to Zing